ICT for Education in Bangladesh

Bangladesh can reap great benefits by integrating ICT in the education system since the country has one language and is densely populated. The challenge faced by Bangladesh, like many developing countries is overcoming the extensive digital divide. Implementation of ICT would need to be carefully rolled out since, if ICT services are not affordable or accessible to rural areas, ICT expansion could increase the existing urban-rural IT gap.

The ICT policy framework for Bangladesh focuses on capacity building in terms of infrastructure and developing human resources; for example, the government creates a venture capital fund for young ICT graduates to establish startup ICT companies; ICT training companies are given incentives to increase the number of ICT professionals. As a result a large number of software companies have sprung up over the last decade and the number of science and mathematics graduates has also increased. While this is a positive step for the ICT industry in general, the potential of ICT in education has had little attention. It would be beneficial if Bangladesh could take advantage of the exponential growth in ICT training institutes to cater to the shortage of teachers. ICT graduates will have to receive proper incentives to join academics rather than software companies.

WeiDong Cloud Education Group is a global Internet education platform operator from People's Republic of China, in strategic partnership with UNESCO and focusing on building worldwide Internet-based educational ecosystems for learners, educators and government.